Federal Prospects Hockey League

for the 600th episode of the Power Play Post Show.

It'll be one of those long retrospective interviews of a player who's played in the FPHL for a long, long time.

And that'll be coming out in just a couple of weeks.

That's right.

For Romakers, the 26-27 season will be about more than simply returning to Binghamton.

It will also be an opportunity to continue building on a championship legacy that has already produced three Commissioner Cups with eight returners now committed to the Black Bears.

The foundation of the defending champions continues to take shape as Binghamton prepares for its sixth season in the FPHL.

Yeah, I think, you know, I think we can look back at this six months from now, seven months from now, and there's going to be a few signings that we're going to be like, oh yeah, that was a great signing.

Actually, he's 6'2", so he's got some size to him.

But the reason I mention it is he was playing for the Dandery Hattricks of the Federal Prospects Hockey League, which is also known as very close to where I live.

I could go see this player if he ends up being returned to that team, although I imagine if the Canadians decide they want to offer him a contract...

it will come with some guarantee that he'll play in a league that actually kind of matters.

But I find it so fascinating that they've offered him a deal or that they've offered him this, this opportunity to come and play for them because like, Who is this guy? How did you even find out about this guy? Were you watching Federal Prospects Hockey League? Did you guys have scouts in Danbury, Connecticut? What happened? I'm very curious.

I hope he ends up signing just so we can talk to the Canadians and be like, how did this happen? I'm genuinely kind of like, I'm very interested in what this kid's story looks like.

Anybody else have a forward that stands out to you?

There's a brand new landscape in the FPHL this upcoming season for the Columbus River Dragons.

But what are the pros and what are the cons? Let's talk about that and more on this episode of Peach State Puck.

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, my fellow Georgia hockey fans, and welcome to episode 11 of Peach State Puck.

We'll see if that works out.

That could definitely change, no doubt, the landscape of Georgia hockey, the landscape of the NHL.

But there's also a big change in the landscape for the Columbus River Dragons and the FPHL in this upcoming season.

And I got to talk to the man at the helm of the team, of the boys in Columbus, to talk about what that's all going to look like for the 2026-27 season.

So who better to interview for episode 11 than the Columbus River Dragons number 11 and captain Kirk Underwood.

A couple weeks

NHL kicks off, then a couple weeks after that, FPHL kicks off.

Really, all hockey kicks off in October, so everybody's really pumped about it.

Yeah.

During that same interview, we talked about retirement, mental health, and what happens when a player suddenly loses the game that has defined his entire life.

Now, if you don't know, and I'm going to pause there for a second, if you don't know anything about Kyle Steffen, He didn't grow up in the same household as other FPHL or even SPHL players did.

His father worked for the New York Rangers in the scouting department and was an important part of the New York Rangers organization.

There was a – and Kyle never really said this to me in these exact words – But there was an expectation from Kyle for playing hockey that meant playing Division I hockey, which he did, and then potentially going further.

If you could, it'd make every coach's life easy, but you can't necessarily coach that because their path in hockey might be different to make it to the same level.

It may go different ways.

One guy played a full season in the FPHL.

He's going to be in a camp.

sparks the opportunity for them to approach different ownership groups and see the expansion.

So you see the USHL coming out here, going into California, the Federal Hockey League coming out west and growing and stuff.

It's just the game of hockey, at times it may seem like it is not growing in certain areas or if a loss or something.

is like hurting it.

Yeah.

He is signed in the FP, the FPHL.

He's signed in the SP, and he's signed in the ECHL.

Yeah.

And they're like, man, what's going on in Monroe? You know, the fan base is rabid.

You've got a great booster club.

You've got the best fans, you know, in FPHL.

And that really attracts, I think, higher caliber players.

And so what league are the Falcons going to be in? Who are you going to play? Tell us about some of the teams that we're going to have come to town that we get to see.

So we're in the Federal Hockey League.

It's 17th year of operation, 17 teams this year.

You've got three teams on this crazy California expansion the league entrusted me with.